Haptics Explorer

Haptics Explorer is a reference and testing tool for anyone who designs or builds haptic feedback for iPhone apps. The iOS Simulator cannot vibrate, so the only honest way to judge a haptic is to feel it on a real device. Haptics Explorer puts the available patterns in one place, lets you play and tune them on your own iPhone, and then gives you code you can paste into your project.

The pattern library is organized into eight categories. Impact covers light, medium, heavy, rigid, and soft taps. Notifications cover success, error, and warning. There is selection feedback, rhythm patterns such as a heartbeat, double and triple taps, and tick-tock, gesture feedback for swipe, pinch, and long press, game patterns such as an explosion, a power-up, and a collision, accessibility patterns, and your own custom patterns. You can filter by category, search, mark favorites, and see what you played recently or most often.

Testing is hands-on. Play a pattern once, loop it, or run a long test that repeats it for 15 seconds, 60 seconds, or until you stop. Intensity sliders run from 0 to 100 percent, sharpness can be adjusted, and speed can be set to 0.5x, 1x, or 2x, with a live preview as you change values. A comparison mode plays related feedback in a row, such as success, warning, and error, or focus and selection, so you can tell them apart. You can also tap out a rhythm to record it, or turn a short sound into taps.